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Resin replaces ITO in latest flexible OLED prototype
Make no mistake, wrapping your mind around the build of an OLED panel is mighty tough to do. Without getting you mired in technobabble, let's just say that indium tin oxide (ITO) has generally been a mainstay in every single OLED that was produced commercially. Now, a team of researchers from AGFA-Gevaert, IMEC, Holst Centre and Philips have prototyped a 12- x 12-centimeter flexible OLED lighting panel that swaps out the ITO for highly-conductive transparent resin electrodes. You see, it's been difficult for OLED builders to secure enough electrical conductivity of ITO in a low-temperature process, and this new methodology is perfectly suited for the coating method (which makes it ripe for printing). The resin itself is being dubbed Orgacon, and tests have shown it to have a 6x improvement over ITO in terms of electrical conductivity. Beyond that, the crews are keeping the secrets safe from the poachers of the world, but here's hoping this amounts to more than just jovial celebration in a far off laboratory.[Via OLED-Display]
Unreal Tournament 3 still alive for Xbox 360
It's been a while since we've talked about Unreal Tournament 3 on the Xbox 360, but Epic's Mark Rein has said in the game's forums that the port is due to be shown in a couple of weeks at Midway's Gamers' Day in Vegas. He says there is no "particular release date yet," but that the title is "coming along really nicely."We're still a little curious about what UT3 on Xbox 360 will offer. The PS3 version recently received free maps (something we know MS doesn't like to do) and Rein previously admitted there were complications with Microsoft over modding. Hopefully there'll be some answers at Midway's Gamers' Day on April 17.
UT3's 360 development just postponed, will resume in '08
Epic's Mark Rein sometimes says one thing, then says another in a different way, then says he said what he said in the first place to be true, but just mistaken. And that's exactly what happened when Rein talked about development on the 360 version of Unreal Tournament 3 only starting in 2008.The merciless folks at Joystiq shot off an email to Mr. Rein to get more inside into the UT3 development drama after finding out that OXM already played the game on the 360 in light of the fact that Rein said the game was only starting development in 2008. Rein clarified his remarks and responded:"What I probably should have said was 'start working on it again.' We had the game up and running on all three platforms up until last spring. In fact Official Xbox Magazine came out and played the game for a great cover story they did on it. We stopped working on the 360 version so we could concentrate our efforts on shipping the various PC and PS3 versions. Once we get those out of the way, and take some time to enjoy the holidays with our friends and families, we'll start working on the 360 version again."There you have it. Xbox 360 UT3 has been in development, but is now in standby mode and will be picked up after the holidays. Clarification is a good thing.
Unreal Tournament 3 on PC Nov. 19 ... PS3 coming 'soon'
Midway announced today that Unreal Tournament 3 is gold for the PC and will start blowing stuff up Nov. 19. And what about the PS3 console exclusive version? Midway already covered their bases and said they don't think it's coming until 2008, but Epic's Mark Rein said at the time they're still pushing for '07. Midway's press release from today says the PS3 version "will follow soon." We're just curious to know how long after the PS3 UT3 launch will the Xbox 360 version be announced -- Epic has obviously found success on the platform.
Silicon Knights makes motion to dismiss Epic counterclaim
Can't we all just get along? The lawsuit between Silicon Knights and Epic heats up again as the Too Human developer has filed a motion to dismiss Epic's counter-suit. In the paperwork obtained by Next-Gen, Silicon Knights' attorneys take apart piece by piece Epic's counterclaim that Silicon Knights stole Epic's technology from the Unreal Engine 3 to create (well, technically we should say develop 'cause it isn't done) Too Human.SK's lawyers say that Epic's interpretation of an "operable" engine under the license they signed is that Epic could deliver nothing in return for SK's payments, which is what they alleged happened. They also say that Epic's claim that it's in their best interest to support UE3 licensees is a fallacy because "the profits Epic assured for itself by having Gears of War as the marquee title for the Xbox 360 dwarf any gain Epic would receive from Silicon Knights purchasing a subsequent licenses for the Engine." No word yet when a judge will rule on the motion to dismiss. It's all looking too bad for SK really. The success of BioShock and Ken Levine's own words on the matter of the UE3 show that working with a cutting-edge engine is tough, but that's the path you walk with (at the time starting development) an unproven engine. Epic may have screwed SK, but as more games come out using the UE3, it just seems to highlight SK's ineptitude to manipulate the technology like everyone else seems to have had to do.
Unreal Tournament 3 gets 'no guarantee' of Nov. release from Epic [Update]
[Update: Not so fast, there. Rein told Next-Gen that "Nothing has changed at this point. We're working toward a November release ... We don't know the specific release date yet and I think it is always prudent to remind our fans that we value quality over release date." While there's still "no guarantee" of a November release, it's nice to know that their plans haven't changed (they just haven't made any yet!).]Epic's Mark Rein made a post on Epic's Unreal Tournament forums last Friday saying there is "no guarantee" of a November release on the PS3. He says they don't know when the game will be completed, but says they want to offer UT3 when it is finished instead of just getting it out the door. Next-Gen interprets this to mean that there may be a delay incoming, meanwhile GI.biz (which didn't link their source material) says that this puts "PS3 Unreal Tournament exclusivity in doubt." The PC version would also be affected by this issue.Remember how we were talking about "happy delays" and "sad delays"? This is a little bigger than a possible "sad delay." It tosses another log -- a major log given the E3 press conference -- on the PS3's delay bonfire. Even though it also affects PC, it's just not a healthy hit for the PS3 to take at the moment on the console front. We're just wondering who's going to talk or spin this story first -- Sony or Epic? There's also no word if this possible delay will push off the Xbox 360 release to give the PS3 an exclusivity window. This is not a game the PS3 wants to lose for the holiday season, but it's also a franchise Epic won't put in danger by being partially done for release.[Via Next-Gen and GI.biz]
BioShock's helping hand to Unreal Engine 3's image
If any company is going to benefit from the success of BioShock, beyond 2K Boston and Take-Two, it's Epic with their embattled Unreal Engine 3. BioShock has brought very public redemption and good press to the UE3 due to 2K Boston's phenomenal use of the tech. This hasn't gone unnoticed by Epic's Mark Rein who says, "We like to think we set a high bar with our own games, but more importantly we give our licensees the opportunity to take what we've done and do something even better with it ... There are a lot more great titles coming from our licensees as well and we're very proud of what is being accomplished and the helping role we get to play in their success."2K Boston's Ken Levine didn't wimp out on talking about their issues with the UE3 during our interview with him. Levine said, "Of course, it's an engine, engine's are always a bear. Developing games is really hard, I think the mistake that a company like Epic might make is to say, 'Oh yeah, it's simple, we give you the engine and you go do it fellas, it'll be a breeze.' Development is hard, it gives you a leg up, but if you don't have a great technology team you're going to run into trouble. Even if you have a great technology team you can run into trouble." Although the exact contractual issues regarding Silicon Knights' license with Epic are something for the court to decide, SK's inability to get Too Human working with the UE3 looks pretty awkward in the court of public opinion in the wake of BioShock.
Unreal Tournament 3 gets no demo on PS3, PC in the clear
There will be a PC demo for Epic's Unreal Tournament 3 before the game's release in November, but the PS3 version is just out of luck. Epic VP Mark Rein told Eurogamer that it's like what they told Microsoft when they wanted a Gears of War demo, "You've got a choice - you can have the demo this year or the game this year."Rein emphasized once again that Epic is not a huge company, a reason given by Sony for sending in their ninja engineers to help get UT3 out the door on time. Rein say the PC demo will end up being a beta, giving programmers feedback to fix the game before launch. The Xbox 360 version is expected early next year -- it'll definitely be interesting to see how the whole multiplayer situation looks between PSN and Xbox Live. We're definitely expecting some phenomenal complaining about which handles multiplayer better regarding ease of use. Unless the Xbox FPS fanboys are still focused on playing Halo 3 multiplayer at that point.
Gears of War PC with 20% more
More Marcus, more Dom, more Brumak! Mark Rein, VP of Epic, says to EuroGamer that the PC version of mega-hit Gears of War adds "about 20 percent extra." Rein also reaffirmed that the extra PC content, like the Brumak fight, will not be making it onto the Xbox 360 due to changes in the "codebase." OK, who wants to take the first crack at: "Even Epic can't get their own engine to do what they want? Har, har." Gears of War on PC will have added level content, multiplayer maps, game modes and a game editor. Now, where to find the extra money for upgrading your PC to run the game smoothly? On the bright side, you could always just play with your Gears of War dolls, which we're sure will be a lot cheaper than upgrading a PC. Gears of War on PC is expected this fall.
Developers talk about Unreal Engine 3 lawsuit
Following the news of Silicon Knights suing Epic games for "inadequacies" with the Unreal Engine 3, ShackNews went ahead and talked to some developers about the issue. Of course, most of the people who spoke against the engine and its licensor Epic (Gears of War, Unreal Tournament 3) did it anonymously -- except for the Postal developers, 'cause they just treat the world with one giant middle finger up in the air, although they did it so softly here with a simple: "It just wasn't the best relationship for us [with Epic]."The statements pretty much cover the spread from good to bad. The most interesting anonymous source talks about several studios who had various levels of experience with the UE3. The key thing is that the source doesn't believe the problems were "intentionally malicious," but a product of Epic being stretched thin because of their own product development. Interestingly, this is given even more credence by Sony swooping in and lending support to Epic in getting the UE3 working properly with PS3. The question is slowly turning into what did Epic deliver to these developers through their license? How much extra work did these developers have to put into the engine to get it functional? Obviously, Sony felt the need to help out. The Unreal Engine 3 tree is going to continue shaking and we're sure to see more stories fall out very soon. Hopefully, with developers who know what they're talking about and are willing to go on the record.
Sony says they're giving Epic more PS3 support
For those who haven't caught on yet, there seem to be some issues with the Unreal Engine 3 and the PS3, resulting in delays for some games and cancellations postponements for others. Sony's Phil Harrison says in a Game Informer interview they didn't do enough initially to support Epic in making the UE3 -- which runs the timed exclusive Unreal Tournament 3 -- run properly with the PlayStation 3. He says Epic "isn't a huge company" and that they've "parachuted in some our [their] SWAT team of super engineers to help them." Harrison says this will increase the performance of the engine on the PS3 and gamers will take notice.Although not a red flag for casual observers, when Sony announced during their press conference that they would be putting more support behind the Unreal Engine 3, it showed a passive acknowledgment of an issue. What that issue is -- well, that's up to the lawyers to decide at this point. The lawsuit by Silicon Knights against Epic showed that the UE3 problems weren't just PS3 based, but Xbox developers are having similar issues too. Microsoft currently has "no comment" on the situation. The UE3 problem issue is something nobody wants to talk about, but could be one deep rabbit hole.[Via GI.biz]
CliffyB will executive produce Gears of War film
Gears of War creator CliffyB will serve as an executive producer to the film adaptation, according to Mark Rein, Vice President of Epic Games. Speaking to Game Invasion at Midway's Gamer Day, Rein also explained that it was Jay Wilbur, the other Epic Game VP, who worked with Creative Artists Agency to negotiate the deal.Having the creator of the franchise in such a prominent position is sure to satiate purists to the game, but so far we have seen only minimal plot that could not be stretched to a feature length. And CliffyB's production role may not give him too much influence, for better or worse -- after serving as executive producer for the latest film adaptation of his work, Frank Miller has decided to serve as director on his roles from now on.No director has been announced, but the treatment was done by Stuart Beattie, scribe of Collateral, which bodes well. New Line won the rights to create the film, but we're still hesitant to call it will still come to fruition or fall through the cracks like Halo did.[Thanks, Frank]
